Process for straining liquids



June 28, 1938. N. R. THIBERT PROCESS FOR STRAINING LIQUIDSOrigin'alFiled Nov. 14, 1935 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 9 2 fl .1. t 1' 2 ww r, h3 w 5M m MN 5N w m In .a mm WWO n 2 NW .T... A N m S w S wN M f W m We I\N T L 4 d R m 1 y W m m M w m m m N S M S n E i C E m .n P 0 June 28,1938 Patented June 28, 1938 j one STATES PATENT OFFICE ApplicationNovember 14, 1935, Serial No. 49,717 Renewed May 18, 1938 5 Claims.

This. invention relates to improvements in straining devices for liquidsand more particularly for lubricating oils and to an improved processfor straining, reconditioning or purifying the same.

A principal object of the invention is to provide means of forcing themedium to be strained through straining layers under pressure and at thesame time providing means for passing thickened or heavy congealedliquids freely in an unstrained condition until the liquid arrives at athinner or more fiowable condition, thereby relieving pressure,preventing injury to the strainer and maintaining the liquid in thestrainer in a flowable and strainable condition.

Another object of the invention is to provide means that willautomatically pass heavy, thick liquids through the device in anunstrained condition direct from the circulation or source of supply.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and economicalmeans for straining that are easily assembled and unassembled for accessto inspect the accumulation of sediment sludge, grits .and impurities.

Another object of the invention is to provide cheap and compact meansfor straining, easily assembled, and which take up a small amount ofspace and make the device accessible and cleanable.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and efiicientstraining layers and a supporting medium therefor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensivemethod of straining a medium containing heavy accumulations or in acongealed state by automatically and freely capturing the same in anunstrained condition, and straining the thinner or more flowable portionof the liquid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. It will be apparent that many changes may be made in thearrangement of parts, the details of construction and the steps of theprocess without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forthin the accompanying claims. I therefore do not wish to be restricted tothe exact arrangements and methods shown and described as the preferredforms have been shown by way of illustration only.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. I is a longitudinal cross-section through the device of theinvention;

Fig. III is a cross-section on line III-III of Fig. I;

Fig. IV is a perspective of the aligned parts of a modification; and 1Fig. V is a longitudinal cross-section of the modification of Fig. IV.

In the straining of liquids such as lubricating oil which are liable tobecome thickened and still or to contain a heavy sludge under certainconditions, it has been found that the heavy unflowable material andsludge resists the strain- Fig. II is a cross-section on line 11-11 ofFig. I;

ing operations, clogs up the working mechanism 1 matically removing thecongealed material and sludge and always keeping the medium beingstrained in a flowable, workable condition.

It is a common mistake to believe that lubricating oils lose theirlubricating Value after a short period of use, and should be drained offand. be replaced by fresh oil. Authorities now hold that this is notonly not so but that the lubricating value of the oil is increased byuse. The oil, however, does become dirty and contaminated by foreignsubstances; hence, it is an important object of my invention to removethese foreign substances and permit of the continued use of the oil bystraining it in the process of its circulation.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters indicatelike parts throughout, I have shown a straining device comprisingbroadly an inlet, an outlet, 2. receiving chamber, and two strainingunits.

The receiving chamber of the device comprises the two dome shaped endportions or casings I having the attaching flanges 2, abutting the endsof the central casing 3, threaded at the portions 4. There is a gasketbetween the flanges 2 and the central casing 3. The flanges 2 are heldsecurely against the casing 3 by means of the cap nut 5; engaging thethreads 4.

The straining mechanism comprises the tubular support (i threaded on theinside adjacent its ends. I The nipple supports 7 are threaded into thethreads of the support 6. To the outer ends of the nipples I are securedby spot welding or otherwise the strainer supports 8. This may be a tubewith the outer end closed and perforated at 9, or it may be in the formof a spiral spring or other form of support with interstices to pass thestrained liquid. Over the support 8 is placed the strainer sleeve H]which is preferably of felt, but other fabrics or straining layers maybe used. I have found a hard pressed smooth surfaced felt of high gradeto be particularly eficacious, although softer and looser felts alsowork very well.

The inlet is at X. An inlet pipe which leads to the force pump, notshown, is attached at the connection ii to the inlet elbow l2, which hasa threaded connection with the casing 3. The inlet connection lldischarges into the space l3 between the casings 3 and 6. Secured in thecasing 6 is the tube and valve seat M, the bore of which is aligned withthe bore of the elbow ll. Seated on the valve seat of the part M is thevalve ball member l5, which is resiliently held on the valve seat by thespring l6 which is held in alignment by the pressure adjusting plug llhaving the centering extension l8 extending into the core of the spring.The plug ll is screw threaded in the casing 6.

The outlet is provided by the tubular member it screw threaded in thecasings 6 and 3, and having a bore leading out of the space within thecasing 6. The member 19 is coupled with tubular means leading into thecrank case or other receptacle within the circulation system], notshown. The member I9 is supported and held in place by the nut 20.

The strainer device may be supported and held in place by a strapstandard 2| extending around the casing 3 and provided with the feetconnections 22, or it may be otherwise supported and held in place byother means as desired.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The liquid is pumped under pressure from the pump through the elbow l2into the space I3. If

the liquid is congealed orcontains heavy sludge the pressure in thespace 13 will be increased and the heavy liquid or sludge will exert apressure on the ball valve IS, the spring l6 having been regulated to adesired adjusted pressure by the plug I1. Thisincreased pressure willlift the ball l and allow the heavy liquid to enter the space in thecasing 6 and to be discharged therefrom through the outlet IS, withoutgoing through the strainers. When the liquid entering the space l3becomes thinner and more fluid the pressure will be reduced and theliquid will be forced through the strainer layer It! into the space incasing 6, and thence to the outlet IS. The strainer layer ID will removeall foreign material and dirt from the liquid.

The pressure for operating the ball valve [5 may be regulated as desiredby means of the plug ll acting on the spring l6.

By removing the nuts 5 the casings I may be readily removed and accesshad to the strainer layers ii]. The strainer supports 8 may be removedby unscrewing the connection I. All the parts are screw connected, hencemay be easily removed and replaced for cleaning or replacement of theparts. Most of the parts are of the simplest forms of pipe connections,well understood and easily operable for inspection or cleaning.

In Figures IV and V, I have shown a modification that in many respectshas advantages over the device of Fig. I and for those reasons may beconsidered a preferred form.

Instead of the nipple supports 1, the strainer supports 8 and thestrainer of the device of Fig. I, I thread a strainer container 23 at 24to the part 6. The container 23, has the retaining flange 25 adjacentthe opposite end from the threaded portion 2&. Into the container 23 Islip a number of strainer layer pads 26 of felt or other materialsuitable for straining. Each of the pads 26 is made to fit the containerand is supported by a wire mesh support 27. Between the layers of padsand mesh support I place a spacer member 28. The pads, mesh supports andspacers are made to fit the container. The parts are assembled as shownin Fig. V. The outermost pad is held in place by the flange 25. When thepads, mesh supports and spacers have been assembled in the container 23,the container is screwed on to the member 6 at the threads 24 untilengagement is made to hold the parts in the required alignment.

The operation of this modification is identical with that describedabove for the device of Fig. I, with the exception that the liquid to bestrained enters the container 23 at the end through the opening of theflange 25 and traverses each strainer pad in order until it enters thespace internally of the member 6.

The number of strainer pads may be increased or decreased compatiblewith the results desired as shown by experience.

One of the chief advantages of this modification is that it providessimple and convenient means of regulating the amount of strainer layerthe liquid has to traverse and provides successive straining operations.

Another advantage lies in the simplicity of the strainer pads,economical and easy of application and replacement. The disks andspacers are of the very simplest construction.

The complete device is small in size and of the simplest and mosteconomical construction.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided simple,inexpensive, efficient and easily operable means for attaining all ofthe objects and advantages of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a cylindrical shapedmember, a hollow member extending into and forming a passageway throughthe side wall of said member, a smaller cylindrical shaped membersupported internally of the first cylindrical shaped member by saidhollow member, said hollow member forming an outlet passageway, thewalls of said cylindrical members being in spaced relation with eachother and each of said cylindrical shaped members having attaching meansadjacent the ends thereof, a cup shaped member having a solid wall andhaving attaching means detachably secured to each of the attaching meansof the outer cylindrical shaped member and a hollow member having aperforated wall and attaching means secured to each of the attachingmeans of the internal cylindrical shaped member, said hollow membersextending within the cup shaped members on the respective ends of theouter cylindrical member with the perforated walls thereof lyingsubstantially entirely within said cup shaped members, strainer meanssupported by each of said hollow members so as to close theperforations, the said outer cylindrical shaped member having an inletopening in a side wall thereof communicating with the space between saidcylindrical shaped members and the inner cylindrical shaped memberhaving an opening therein and a valve member closing said opening.

2. A device of the character described comprising a tubular shapedmember, a hollow member extending into and forming a passageway ingmeans detachably secured to each of the at-- taching means of the outertubular member, a hollow member having a perforated wall and attachingmeans detachably secured to each of the attaching means of the internaltubular member, strainer means supported by each of said hollow membersso as to close the perforations, the said outer tubular member having aninlet opening in a side wall thereof communicating with the spacebetween said tubular members, the inner tubular member having an openingtherein in alignment with the inlet opening of the outer tubular memberand a valve member closing the opening in said inner tubular memberwhereby the means coming through the inlet openings will be dischargeddirectly on the valve member.

3. A device of the character described comprising a tubular member, ahollow support extending into and forming a passageway through the sidewall of said member, a smaller tubular member supported internally ofthe first tubular member by said hollow support, said hollow supportforming an outlet passageway, the walls (if said tubular members beingin substantially concentric spaced relation with each other, each ofsaid tubular members having threaded portions adjacent the opposed endsthereof, a cup shaped member having a solid wall and connecting meansadjacent its open end, detachably secured to each of the threadedportions of the outer tubular member, a hollow member having aperforated wall and a threaded portion detachably secured to each of thethreaded ends of the internal tubular member, strainer means supportedby each of said hollow members so as to close the perforations, the saidouter tubular member having an inlet opening in a side wall thereofcommunicating with the space between said tubular members, the innertubular member having an opening therein in alignment with the inletopening of the outer tubular member and a valve member closing theopening in said inner tubular member whereby the means coming throughthe inlet openings will be discharged directly on the valve member.

4. A device of the character described comprising a tubular member, asmaller tubular member, means for supporting said tubular members inspaced substantially concentric relation with each other, each of saidtubular members having attaching means adjacent the opposed endsthereof, a cup shaped member having a solid wall detachably secured toeach of the attaching means on said outer tubular member, a hollowmember having a perforated wall and attaching means secured to each ofthe attaching means of the internal tubular member, strainer meanssupported by each of said hollow members so as to close theperforations, the said inner tubular member having a passageway leadingoutwardly thereof, the said outer tubular member having an inlet openingin the side wall thereof communicating with the space between saidtubular members, the inner tubular member having an opening therein inalignment with the inlet opening of the outer tubular member and a valvemember closing the opening in said inner tubular member, whereby themeans coming through the inlet opening of the outer tubular member willbe discharged substantially directly on the valve member.

5. A device of the character described comprising a tubular shapedmember, a hollow member extending into and forming a passageway throughthe side wall of said member, a smaller tubular member supportedinternally of the first tubular member so that the said tubular membersare in spaced relation with each other, said hollow member forming anoutlet passageway from the inner tubular member, each of said tubularmembers having attaching means adjacent the opposed ends thereof, a cupshaped member having a solid wall and attaching means detachably securedto each of the attaching means of the outer tubular member, a hollowmember having a perforated wall and attaching means detachably securedto each of the attaching means of the internal tubular member, saidhollow members extending within the cup shaped members on the respectiveends of the outer tubular member with the perforated walls thereof beingsubstantially entirely within said cup shaped members, strainer meanssupported by each of said hollow members so as to close theperforations, the said outer tubular member having an inlet opening in aside wall thereof communicating with the space between said tubularmembers and the inner tubular member having an opening therein and avalve member closing said open- NAPOLEON R. THIBERT.

